Get Answers to Your Questions: Find Solutions and Information

Photography

Will I need to pay an additional fee for your professional Airbnb photography?

We won’t charge you an additional fee - it's all part of our service. If you join us as a full-time host, we’ll provide photography and lockbox installation free of charge. For our flexible hosts, there is an £150 onboarding fee for photography and lockbox installation.

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Can I help write my Airbnb listing description?

Of course - you know your property better than anyone else! We’ll work closely with you to get the information we need to create a perfect listing for potential guests. You’ll be in touch with our onboarding team throughout the listing creation process, and you can easily upload information about your rental property via our host dashboard.

How many photos will you take?

Our listings usually consist of around 15 to 30 photos. Quality above quantity is our top priority when uploading room images. Depending on the size of your property, we’ll take as many photographs as necessary to showcase your home. We want to give potential guests a sense of your space without overwhelming them. So, although Airbnb allows a maximum of 100 photographs to be uploaded, we’ll select two to four shots of each room. We’ll perfect the best photographs using professional editing software, and our expert team will choose the stand-out cover image.

The first 5 photos are the most important, perhaps even the 'make it or break it' moment for users viewing your listing. These appear before your potential guests click into your listing's full photo collection. They're the sneak peek into your Airbnb’s unique personality, so we’ll make sure to showcase your property’s best features first.

Does Airbnb allow the use of professional images taken outside of the platform?

Yes, Airbnb allows photographs taken by any professional service to be used on their platform. We’ve listed over 6,000 properties with our expert photography team.

List Creation

How quickly can you list my property?

We can have your property up and running in under a week. The amount of time it takes to list your property will depend on how quickly you can provide us with key information. If you’re committed to the process, it’ll take no time at all.

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Can I help write my Airbnb listing description?

Of course - you know your property better than anyone else! We’ll work closely with you to get the information we need to create a perfect listing for potential guests. You’ll be in touch with our onboarding team whilst we create your listing, and you can easily upload information about your rental property via our host dashboard.

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Which booking websites will you list my property on?

The websites we list your property on will vary, depending on the length of let you’d like to advertise your property for. Our lettings strategy combines short-term, medium-term and long-term lets, to maximise your revenue.

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You’ll be able to discuss with your account manager which durations you’d like to let your property for, and you’ll also be able to update your preferences via our digital host dashboard. If you’d rather keep your property off a certain platform, just let us know.

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We use the following booking websites for our short-term listings: Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and Expedia.

For longer lets, we can list your property on the following websites: Zoopla, HomeLike, RightMove, Spotahome, Morning Croissant, CityLets, NestPicks, and UniPlaces.

Can I use Houst if my property is not already listed on Airbnb?

Without a doubt! We’ll take care of listing your property on Airbnb (and other websites if you like) from start to finish.

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Do I need any certificates?

We may require specific documents depending on the market in order to list your home with us. We do, however, expect your property to be fully compliant with all local health and safety regulations, as well as any government rules and regulations. We recommend that you contact your gas and electricity suppliers for an up-to-date safety inspection and that all fire and carbon monoxide alarms are operational before hosting.

How long will it be until I start earning?

If you’re ready to get started straight away, we’ll list your property within a week. Once your property is listed (and you’ve set your property’s availability), you’ll be able to accept your first booking. You’ll receive a payment following each guest check-out, rather than on a monthly basis.

Price Optimisation

How can I make more money from my rental property using Houst?

We pride ourselves on two key strategies - shown to increase our host’s earnings by up to 30%.

Firstly, we’ve developed our very own pricing software that takes into account city-wide occupancy rates, travel trends, property location, events, seasonality, competitor pricing, and other factors. Our data strategists ensure that your revenue is maximised all year round.

Secondly, we utilise multi-platform listing across a range of booking sites and combine short-lets with long-lets to maximise your earning potential. Did you know short-term rentals earn up to 3x more than traditional long-term rentals? You can enter your address into our calculator to get an earnings estimate.

How can I keep track of my earnings?

You’ll be given access to your own personal host dashboard, which you can access online via your mobile or desktop. Your dashboard is updated in real-time and provides you with an in-depth overview of your listing and its performance.

Here, you’ll find all past and future bookings, an interactive calendar to show your property’s availability, and a timeline of your earnings. We’ll also log any invoices and payouts in the billing section of your dashboard, which can be exported into excel for easy management.

How does your price algorithm work?

Our pricing analysts compare your property to an extensive list of stays in the area, both manually and using our smart pricing software. We’ll set the best price for your property relative to the market, taking amenities and listing characteristics into account.

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Our algorithm factors in market-wide holiday rental fluctuations such as seasonality, major events, rental demand, and revenue growth. We know when major events are taking place nearby or if prices are unusually high, so we’ll automatically increase your nightly rate during these dates in line with the increased demand. We’ll also automatically adjust your nightly rate depending on how far away the booking is, increasing the likelihood of last minute bookings to ensure your property isn’t left empty.

What’s in it for my referral/friend?

They’ll receive free professional photography for their property (worth £180) and their £150 onboarding fee will be waived.

Multiple Listings

How quickly can you list my property?

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Can I help write my Airbnb listing description?

Of course - you know your property better than anyone else! We’ll work closely with you to get the information we need to create a perfect listing for potential guests. You’ll be in touch with our onboarding team whilst we create your listing, and you can easily upload information about your rental property via our host dashboard.

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Which booking websites will you list my property on?

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We use the following booking websites for our short-term listings: Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and Expedia.

For longer lets, we can list your property on the following websites: Zoopla, HomeLike, RightMove, Spotahome, Morning Croissant, CityLets, NestPicks, and UniPlaces.

Can I use Houst if my property is not already listed on Airbnb?

Without a doubt! We’ll take care of listing your property on Airbnb (and other websites if you like) from start to finish.

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Do I need any certificates?

How long will it be until I start earning?

Guest Vetting

How do you screen potential guests?

There are three key steps to our guest vetting process. Firstly, we always use official ID verification software to check that your guests are genuine. If the booking is taken through Airbnb, this is done through Airbnb’s own verification process. If the booking is through another platform, we use a third-party verification platform - giving you peace of mind (and more bookings!) when listing on multiple platforms.

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Secondly, we use an application programming interface when taking payments from guests, allowing us to automatically identify any fraudulent activity.

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And lastly, our expert team is trained in identifying potential red flags. Our pros manually cross-reference guest details to triple-check a potential guest is genuine before accepting a booking.

Guest Check-in

My property can’t accomodate a wall-mounted or railing lockbox - what do I do?

If your property isn’t suited to a wall-mounted or railing lockbox, we offer a smart key exchange service. This service would usually cost just over £20 per month, but it’s covered by our pricing plan!

We use a secure, third-party, key exchange service, with over 4,000 key collection points open 24/7. We’ll send the key collection code and location to your guest in advance, so they can simply walk around the corner and collect their key.

We also track your key’s journey - so we’ll know whose hands it’s in at all times.

Are my keys safe in the lockbox?

We use two different kinds of lockboxes, depending on whether we’re installing a wall-mounted or railing lockbox. The security of your home is our top priority, so we’ve made sure our lockboxes are secure.

For wall-mounted lockboxes, we use the Supra C500 Police Accredited KeySafe. Put through a series of demanding tests devised by security experts, this lockbox is as attack resistant as a domestic front door. As the name suggests, it's been officially police approved too!

For railings, we use the MasterLock 5414. Made by one of the most trusted security brands, this lockbox has a solid zinc body and a dual-locking system for additional security. These lockboxes are widely used by Britain’s NHS to access homes requiring social care.

To be completely safe, your keys are only tagged with a unique homecode and we keep spares locked away in our office too. It’s also good to note that the lockboxes are almost always empty. Either your guests or our cleaners will have the keys - the lockbox is used only on changeover day.

How easy is it for guests to use the lockbox?

Our self check-in process is easy. We provide guests with a mobile-friendly lockbox guide including: a map of the area, a step-by-step picture guide, written instructions, a diagram of how to open the lockbox, and a telephone number for our support team.

We’ll send the lockbox code via an online portal, which expires at the end of their reservation.

Linen & Toiletries

Are there any other linen and toiletries costs to consider?

We’ve built a transparent billings page so that you can keep track of all your incoming and outgoing payments via your host dashboard.

Our linen services are included in your payment plan - so you won’t need to pay anything extra. Likewise, the cleaning fee for our house-keeping services is covered by your guest. We’ll set the cleaning fee according to how many bedrooms you have, and whether additional beds (i.e. sofa beds) have been used.

If you’d like us to re-stock toiletries for you, we’ll take care of purchasing the items and placing them in the property - but the cost will be charged to your account. You’ll find an invoice for this on your host dashboard, so you’ll know exactly when you’ve been charged and what for.

Guest Communications

What is Airbnb’s policy for communicating with guests?

Airbnb asks that hosts respond to guest messages and enquiries within 24 hours; the quicker the better.

If a guest requests to stay at your property, Airbnb gives you 24 hours to accept (or decline) the request before it expires. This means that a speedy response time is vital when it comes to accepting booking requests.. If you miss a request, Airbnb suggests you offer the potential guest a special offer, and ask them to re-send their booking request.

‍If a guest enquires about your property, Airbnb again asks hosts to respond within 24 hours. The difference here is that the enquire won’t expire, but a slow response will significantly reduce your response time rating. In turn, Airbnb openly states this will lower your property’s position in search results. Alongside this, a quick response means your potential guest is more likely to book as they’re already interested, but want more information first. Similarly, Airbnb advises that hosts can send a special offer to entice those enquiring, and also send a direct invitation to book.

How does Airbnb calculate response rates?

Airbnb gives hosts both a response rate and a response time. Your response rate reflects the percentage of booking requests and enquiries you’ve responded to within 24 hours over the past 30 days. Your response rate is most important, as it affects where your property ranks in search results and also impacts your superhost status.

Your response time is the average time it took you to respond to any messages over the last 30 days. If you respond to a message after 24 hours, your response time will increase. This doesn’t affect your search results as such, but may discourage potential guests from booking your stay. However, it’s handy to know that the time you take to respond to any follow-up messages from guests doesn’t impact your host response time.

Maintenance

Will you consult me before carrying out maintenance?

When you join us, we’ll ask you whether you’d like us to resolve maintenance issues immediately for you, or if you’d like to be contacted first. You can update this preference at any time via your digital dashboard, and you can also allocate a budget for various types of repairs.

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If anything in your property needs repairing, our house-keeping team will alert us as soon as they notice the problem and provide photos. We’ll upload a report to your digital dashboard to keep you updated. Depending on your preference, we’ll either resolve the issue immediately for you or your support team will get in touch. If you’ve asked us to resolve any issues immediately but we can’t repair the problem within your allocated budget, we’ll get in touch to discuss your options.

What happens if a guest damages my property?

If a guest damages your property, our house-keeping team will alert us as soon as they notice the problem and provide photos. We’ll contact the guest via the platform they booked through, and request they pay for the damages. If a guest declines to do so, we’ll raise the case with either AirCover or GuardHog, depending on the booking site.

Property Insurance

What happens if a guest damages my property?

We have thorough screening processes in place, so it’s unlikely that a guest will damage or steal from your property. However, if a guest does damage your property, our house-keeping team will alert us as soon as they notice the problem and provide photos.

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We’ll contact the guest via the platform they booked through, and request they pay for the damages. If a guest declines to do so, we’ll raise the case with either AirCover or GuardHog (depending on the booking site). As long as the guest is liable under the insurance policy, you’ll be reimbursed.

Will my personal home insurance cover my rental?

Most standard home and landlord insurance won’t give you the cover you need for letting a property via Airbnb or other short-term rental websites. You’ll need to have a specialist short-term let insurance policy to ensure you’re fully protected.

Houst Pricing

How can I make more money from my rental property using Houst?

We pride ourselves on two key strategies - shown to increase our host’s earnings by up to 30%.

How can I keep track of my earnings?

How does your price algorithm work?

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What’s in it for my referral/friend?

They’ll receive free professional photography for their property (worth £180) and their £150 onboarding fee will be waived.

Professional Landlords

Is this within current regulations?

Our expert hosting team will advise you on local licences and regulations rules. As we operate in 17 different cities around the world, our team has a wealth of local expertise and knowledge concerning each market’s regulations.

What about the London 90-Day Airbnb rule?

The 90-day Airbnb rule only applies to Greater London. No other city in the UK currently has such a limit in place. We manage this limit for you - so you don’t need to worry. Once your listing has reached the 90-day limit, you’ll have the option to turn your listing into a medium or long-term rental, marketed across multiple booking platforms to ensure consistent occupancy throughout the year.

Optimising the letting cycle allows our hosts to earn more money than traditional long-term letting or doing it themselves. You can sit back knowing our team is able to fill void periods, legislation is being followed, and that your account manager is taking advantage of higher rates (up to 300% more) for your holiday lets during the peak seasons.

It's important to be aware and compliant when it comes to the 90-day limit. There is still a lot of opportunity for you to capitalise through diversification of letting types. This fusion of letting types can be tailored to your specific requirements and our team will build, organise and manage a cycle that works best for each individual property.

Do you actually earn more than full-time tenancies?

Yes. Our rental pricing software “OccuMax” is informed by thousands of data-points to adjust your nightly price throughout the year. So you can increase your occupancy rates without compromising on revenue. This ensures that your property is maximising your nightly price charged to guests.

Our data shows us that our landlords received an average of 56% more revenue than if they stayed with long-term tenants during Summer 2022.

Your estate agent may say that short-term lets are less certain than long-term lets. However, with our OccuMax software we ensure that occupancy rates remain high throughout the year. London Occupancy is on average 92% for all our host properties. Rest assured that your property will be booked all year round.

Who do you let book the property?

Screening guests is vital to keep your property safe - we want your guests to treat your property just as you would. As a result, we use photo verification software and an integrated payment platform to automatically flag any potentially fraudulent activity.

We also cross-reference each guest’s details manually to ensure we only approve legitimate bookings. With experience in vetting over 300,000 guests around the world, you can rest assured that your property is in safe hands.

How do you make sure cleans are done properly?

We compile housekeeping reports after every clean - sent directly to your mobile-friendly dashboard. You can view photos of each clean to make sure they’re up to standard and add special requests for your next clean.

What happens if my property gets damaged?

Whilst hosting with us, you’ll remain covered by Airbnb’s AirCover - so you’ll still be insured for up to $1m damage protection and $1m liability insurance. We’ll also protect your property with GuardHog insurance, so you’ll be insured on multiple other booking sites. If your property is damaged by a guest, we’ll take care of filing the claim on your behalf. It’s also good to know that AirCover will reimburse you within 2 weeks if the guest refuses to pay. We’ll also take care of repairing any damages if you’d like us to, or just let us know if you’d like to use your own contractors.

What about the Airbnb parties?

Since Airbnb introduced a worldwide ban on parties in 2020, there’s been a 63% drop in party reports in the UK (and a 44% drop in the rate of party reports globally). Aligned with Airbnb, we also have an anti-party policy in place. Our team of experts have used tried and tested methods to reduce the chance of parties taking place in our host properties. We use multiple reservation parameters, such as ID and facial verification of guests and cross-reference data-points to flag any risky behaviour. If a party does occur on your property, our 24/7 support team is on hand to take the right measures to close this down as quickly as possible. Speak to our advisors who can tell you more about how we do this.

How can I manage my expenses?

You can view all incoming and outgoing payments on the billings section of your digital dashboard. Easily access this on your mobile or laptop, and download all your transactions in a CSV format for easy management. Feeling in control of your rental business has never been so effortless.

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Is it worth it after paying utility bills?

Yes! Even with the current energy situation and prices in the UK, our landlords are making more from short-term rentals than fixed long-term tenants. We also incorporate utility costs into your nightly rate.

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How long before I start earning?

On average, it takes less than 10 days from when you book a call to your listing going live. This includes an in-person onboarding meeting, where we take you through how to use our digital dashboard and arrange a professional photography shoot. We’ll get the photos edited and create your listing across multiple platforms. Book an onboarding call with one of our expert advisors today.

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Will I always be talking to a different person every time I need something from you?

When you opt into our professional host plan, you’ll be assigned a personal account manager who becomes your point of contact. We use whatsapp, email and phone calls as our main touch points with our hosts. You will also receive monthly performance reports regarding your property portfolio.

How will you market my property?

You’ll have the choice to list your property on just Airbnb, or to expand to other major platforms like Booking.com, Expedia, and Vrbo. We use integrated real-time technology to eliminate the risk of duplicate bookings. You’ll also have the option to list your property on 8 long-term let platforms.

Is switching from long-term to short-term really worth it?

Yes, it really is! It doesn’t only earn you more - it gives you greater flexibility. And it’s also less hassle with us, as we do all the operational work whilst eliminating the risks of void periods and rogue guests.

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Are short-term lets a good idea when looking to sell the property?

Some of our landlords use Houst when looking to sell their property, but not right away. Obviously, they have the option of leaving their property empty, but that’s not exactly making the most from their property! So, they offer the property as a short-term let for the months leading up to the sell. Many have then taken their properties off the market because they are profiting a lot from short-term rentals.

Get Answers to Your Questions: Find Solutions and Information

Photography

List Creation

Price Optimisation

Multiple Listings

Guest Vetting

Guest Check-in

Linen & Toiletries

Guest Communications

Maintenance

Property Insurance

Houst Pricing

Professional Landlords

Ready to get started?

Everything managed.

Why we ask

Multiple listing sites.

Why we ask

Earning you 56% more.

Why we ask

Hosting experts.

Picture perfect.

Why we ask

Thoughtful touches.

Why we ask

Superb support.

Why we ask

Increased earnings.

Hosting experts.

Complete control.

From 18%

From 12%

Heard about OccuMax® pricing?

Get Answers to Your Questions: Find Solutions and Information

Photography

List Creation

Price Optimisation

Multiple Listings

Guest Vetting

Guest Check-in

Linen & Toiletries

Guest Communications

Maintenance

Property Insurance

Houst Pricing

Professional Landlords

Ready to get started?

Your Airbnb Management partner:Get rid of your hosting headaches

We’re not here yet!

What is your main goal with Houst? Choose one.

Everything managed.

Why we ask

Everything managed.

How long do you plan to short-let your property for?

Multiple listing sites.

Why we ask

Want to host while you’re away?

Multiple listing sites.

When would you be ready to start?

Earning you 56% more.

Why we ask

Not ready to start hosting just yet? No worries!

Earning you 56% more.

Will you be renting your entire property?

Hosting experts.

Have a spare room to rent out? Here’s how:

Hosting experts.

How furnished is your property?

Picture perfect.

Why we ask

Picture perfect.

Let us know more about what features your property has:

Thoughtful touches.

Why we ask

Thoughtful touches.

Which service do you need most? Choose one.

Superb support.

Why we ask

Superb support.

We’re getting your estimate...

Increased earnings.

Hosting experts.

Complete control.

One step away from earning more.

You could be earning £0,000 to £0,000 a month.

Your yearly earnings forecast:

Let’s discuss your property:

Getting started only takes 3 steps:

Our pricing plans:

From 18%

From 12%

Compare what’s included:

Frequently asked questions:

Heard about OccuMax^® pricing?

What is your main goal with Houst?
Choose one.